India second highest in child adoptions by US citizens in 2020

US citizens have adopted the second largest number of children from India during the pandemic year 2020, according the data released by the US State Department.

A total of 103 children between the age group of 1-17 years have been adopted from India by US citizens in 2020, and out of this, 76 are female children and 27 are male.

Last year was the lowest in terms of adoption of Indian children by the US. Before this, the lowest number of adoptions of Indian children by the US was in 2013, when only 119 children were adopted.

China tops all countries in terms of adoption by US citizens, and in 2020, a total of 202 children were adopted from China. Data further says that the maximum number of children who are adopted are in the age group of 1-2 years. In 2020, a total of 58 children, who were in the age group of 1-2 years, were adopted.

“Did you know? India is the second largest origin country for children adopted by U.S. families,” the US Embassy in India said in a tweet.

When India announced a 21-day national lockdown in March 2020, the US Embassy in New Delhi was assisting four US families in-country to complete their adoptions.

Also read: Why the road to adoption in India is so long and winding

“Though nearly all Indian government institutions suspended operations, the Indian Central Authority, and the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), expedited all required Indian documentation for the adopted children,” said the 2020 inter-country adoption report of the US State department.

The report said that the situation was also ‘a test of innovation and collaboration’ for Mission India, as the US Embassy in Delhi, and the Consulates in Hyderabad and Mumbai, ‘proactively stepped in to assist the families’ with their travel back to the United States, despite widespread travel restrictions within India. It took an average of 553 days to complete adoption formalities of 103 children.

The US has completed all 103 children’s adoption formalities unlike a few other countries, where the adoption formalities are pending.

“Every child needs and deserves a permanent, loving family. The Department of State recognizes that for many children around the world, family reunification or domestic adoption may not be possible. We strongly believe that intercountry adoption must remain a viable option for these children when it is in their best interests,” said US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken.

“To ensure that intercountry adoptions are conducted in an ethical, transparent way, we support the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Convention) that provides the safeguards and framework for international co-operation on intercountry adoption,” Blinken said.

“US works closely with the U.S. adoption community-adoption service providers, advocacy organizations, Congress, and other stakeholders-who share our commitment to protecting children, birth parents, and adopting parents, and helping connect children with families who will cherish and nurture them,” said the Secretary of State.

In the last 20 years, adoption of children from India by the US hit a maximum in 2001, when 542 children were adopted.